ReBoot: Deception
by blort
Summary: The Hunt is on and Megabyte has decided to destroy the Mainframe heroes in the most evil way he can think of.
1. Chapter 1

"Attention! As you are no doubt aware, the Principal Office is now under my complete control. You're probably looking forward to one of my erudite speeches about me, Megaframe, the new viral dawn, etc., etc. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. There is no grand scheme here; this is about _revenge_. Viruses are predatory by design and it is time for me to follow my function. Prepare yourselves for the hunt."

Megabyte grinned to himself. He turned to Enzo who, in response, hurled insults. "You're not gonna get away with this!" Enzo exclaimed, struggling to escape the grasp of the now viral Welman. "Bob will kick your ascii so bad you'll wish you had never been initialized!"

"My my, such language from such a... diminutive sprite." Megabyte replied. "However, Bob kicking my... ascii, as you so elegantly put it, will be a problem that I am sure to avoid. You see, my new capabilities have given me so many better ways to defeat him and the rest of his friends." He leaned forward, practically in Enzo's face, and sneered. "I shall destroy them from within as my experience with Dot has taught me how much more satisfying taking a more subtle approach can be."

"You'll never win with a plan that basic!" Enzo spat. "They'll see through it. They'll realize who you are."

"If Dot could not tell me from the real Bob, if you could not tell me from your miserable mutt, then tell me, young sprite, what hope do they have?" Megabyte gloated, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some personal business to attend to. But I shall leave you some company." And with that, Megabyte created an alias to watch over the War Room. With a laugh, he turned to exit the War Room, stepping over the nearly offline form of Phong.

***************

"I can't believe it, Sugah!" Mouse declared, slamming a fist against the wall. "I've been at this for nearly fifteen nanos and nothing."

"It doesn't usually take you this long to hack something?" AndrAIa asked, glancing at the other sprite out of her peripheral.

"A console this simple should've barely taken a nano." she stated, "I just don't get it."

"Well with all that's going on, maybe you're just a bit overclocked." the game sprite replied. "I know I've been on edge ever since Megabyte's little not-a-speech speech."

"Hrmh." Mouse grumbled. As she turned back to the control panel, however, the "Access Denied" message suddenly changed to one that said "Access Granted" as the door began opening.

"Well that was simple." AndrAIa said.

"I don't know." Mouse replied. "Somethin's not right about this."

"Who cares?" AndrAIa asked, "We've got a way out of here and maybe even a way out of the Principal Office."

"Oh sure, a real gift from the User." Mouse replied.

"Look, a way out is a way out and I figure it's best we take any opportunities presented to us." AndrAIa shot back.

"Wise words, game sprite." The two women froze at the sound of the ominous voice. If the open door had been a gift from the User, then it was a very cruel one. "I don't think it's in your best interests to stand around in a wait state any longer."

Mouse and AndrAIa turned to see Megabyte looming over them, his face a twisted sneer, his claws extended. And though nervous, the two women silently agreed that if he was right here, right in front of them, they should take their chances. AndrAIa, her trident at the ready, was the first to charge, jumping at the virus and coming down trident first. Megabyte, however, swiftly evaded her blow, striking her with his claws as she landed. Mouse, drawing her katana, followed suit, slashing at the virus. Once again, though, Megabyte was able to get the better of her, returning her slashes with ones of his own and knocking her across the hallway. He pounced on her, pinning her to the ground.

"Ah, the traitor." he smiled, "I am going to take particular joy in deleting you."

"Not a chance, you outdated dipswitch!" yelled AndrAIa, planting her spear in the ground and using it to launch herself forward with a kick to Megabyte's face.

Giving them a brief respite, AndrAIa helped Mouse to her feet as the duo took off down the hallway that had been previously blocked. As they ran, however, they eventually came to a fork and decided that the best course of action would be to split up, hoping that one or even both ways would lead them out of the Principal Office.

Watching them separate, Megabyte smirked. "I wonder which way would be more rewarding."

***************

"Guys!"

Outside the Principal Office, the group of Bob, Dot, Matrix, Hack and Slash were were startled by the appearance of AndrAIa, rushing to greet them. Much like Mouse and AndrAIa, once everything in the Principal Office seemed to unlock, their thought processes seemed designed for only one function: escape. They had waited around, hoping for any signs of the rest of their friends and had all but given up hope. The appearance of the lovely game sprite, however, renewed their faith.

"AndrAIa!" Matrix yelled, running over and embracing her. "I'm glad to see you're alright!"

"Thanks Lover, I'm glad to see you too." she replied in an exhausted manner, "After what happened I was sure I wasn't."

"What happened...?" Matrix asked.

"Megabyte." she stated, "He... he attacked us in the halls. He was... so much stronger. It was unreal. We, Mouse and me, managed to stun him long enough to escape but then there was a split. We decided to separate and I made it out here."

"What about Mouse?" Bob asked.

AndrAIa shook her head. "I don't know. Like I said, we separated, so--"

"So what, Sugah?" came the southern twanged voice from behind them. "Took me awhile but I managed to make it out without runnin' into that Megabyte's random ascii. What about you?"

"I didn't run into him, either." AndrAIa replied. "I wonder why he'd just give up, though?"

At that moment, however, massive vidwindows appeared, Megabyte's devious face filling them.

"Attention 'heroes of Mainframe.' I know that you've escaped, but don't think yourselves to be lucky or that you managed to outwit me. I _allowed_ you to escape. You see, there's a bit of fun to be had in letting you go, hunting you down one by one by one. And seeing as I'm a virus that enjoys his share of entertainment, I thought it would be amusing to let you go and give you false hope. Know this, however, I _have_ won. It's just a matter of drawing my victory out, making it entertaining for me but terrible for you." With that, the vid window turned to shots of a heavily wounded Phong and of young Enzo, held captive by his viral father. Soon, Megabyte reappeared. "The images you have just seen are quite shocking, I expect. I leave you with the knowledge that while you may be free, those you care for are experiencing pain you too will soon feel."

"Oh User..." Dot replied, nearly breaking down into tears.

"C'mon!" Bob said, motioning for Hack and Slash to pick her up, "We have to get out of here."

***************

Night fell upon Mainframe as the group had gathered at the Eight-Ball Apartments. Luckily, there were a number of apartments there that were never rented out and while it might have been a bit unethical, they needed places to stay and to plan. Bob shared his apartment with Dot as well as (to his chagrin) Hack and Slash who refused to leave her side. Matrix and AndrAIa shared an empty one while Mouse took another empty one. The rest of the second had been spent attempting to come up with some sort of strategy but everyone, especially Dot, was far too shaken up by the events that had transpired to think straight so they all retired, planning to pick up things the next second.

***************

A short time later, a vidwindow appeared in the War Room before Herr Doktor. "Ah, Herr Doktor, I see you finally made it to the Principal Office." came Megabyte's deep, intimidating voice. "I take it, then, that things are going smoothly?" he asked.

"Ja, Lord Megabyte." came the answer. "The prisoners are being contained as we speak."

"Even the girl?" Megabyte asked.

"Ja. She put up quite a struggle but you did enough of a number on her that we eventually... calmed her."

In the darkened apartment, a malicious grin spread across AndrAIa's face. "Good." she replied in Megabyte's voice. "I have the hacker's code as well but using the game sprite will be so much more amusing."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"UNF!"

AndrAIa grunted in pain as she was tossed into her holding cell. Her head was spinning and it took her a nano to remember what lead to her situation.

_Mouse and she had fought Megabyte, though he was clearly more powerful than they had ever anticipated... so they ran. There was no point in senselessly being deleted, after all. However a split had decided to impede their progress and with no real alternative, they had split up. AndrAIa wasn't sure if Mouse's way would get her out but a short time later, she cursed herself for as she ran to the end of the hall: a dead end!_

_Though despair had started to creep into her mind, she was a determined sprite and so she reversed direction, hoping that Mouse's way would indeed lead her out of this deathtrap... and that's when she saw them. Blocking her path was a large group of virals and standing front and center was Megabyte himself. And with no warning, no speeches, he ordered the corrupted binomes to attack. They weren't a match for AndrAIa, though, not really. She was, afterall, one of the most skilled combatants in all of Mainframe. Things were going great for her, all things considered, until the virus himself decided to enter the fray. He leapt at her, attacking with ferocity. It took all AndrAIa had just to dodge his pounces and block his slashes. Still, she was surviving and, User help her, with a bit of luck she might've been able to make it out of this safely... but that was before a couple of the virals she had so easily disposed of came back, rushing her from behind._

_Megabyte used the momentary lapse in concentration to his advantage, grabbing her and throwing her with force against one of the walls in the corridor and shoulder checking her into it again as she tried to stand. Satisfied, Megabyte stood over her and began taunting. He said that she was so desperate to escape and that she would... or rather AndrAIa would. What happened next shocked the game sprite. It wasn't that Megabyte's form had changed; he was now a trojan horse virus, she knew this. It was what he changed into that stunned her: herself. The long, aquamarine hair, the orange skin, the silver outfit... her trademarks. They were all in front of her, a vicious sneer plastered across her doppelganger's lovely face._

_"She" would take AndrAIa's place, Megabyte explained in a twisted mockery of her own voice. He would take full advantage of his new abilities to sow distrust, jealousy and deceit. This hunt, for him, was personal so he would bring personal matters to into it. It wasn't enough to just delete the "wretched heroes" but rather, he would toy with their processors and hard drives too._

_AndrAIa couldn't take anymore. He would never succeed, she shouted. He would never fool them. Not Bob, not Dot and especially not Matrix. "AndrAIa", however, just laughed placing a hand on "her" hips and standing in a manner that was exactly like the genuine article. Megabyte then proceeded to rattle off a few of AndrAIa's memories, flawlessly recalling her first meeting with Enzo and their time in the games among other things. To use his abilities, he needed part of someone's code he explained. Getting it wasn't hard, even a simple touch would be enough to transfer the necessary code. And his trojan abilities allowed him to imitate anyone flawlessly, from their mannerisms right down to their most secret thoughts. He could fool anyone, Bob, Dot and especially that fool Matrix he said mockingly. Mega-AndrAIa gave a cruel laugh, a sight that frightened the real thing, and said he had already won. Picking up her trident, the copy turned on his borrowed heel and left down the hall Mouse had gone down._

_AnrdAIa was crushed. This virus, this... abomination, was going to tear apart her friends and lover, everyone she cared about. But that despair turned into determination. She wouldn't allow it! AndrAIa was a warrior and she wouldn't go down like this. Not this easily. A performance boost shot through her and, letting out a mighty scream, she burst through the virals that were still there in an attempt to catch up to her imposter. More virals appeared trying to stop her. They failed, being flung this way and that. She was going to do it! She was going to stop Megabyte before he even started!_

_The pain, however, from the earlier beating she had taken began to catch up to her. Her pace slowed as she clutched at her side. Everything hurt, everything was sore. The pain was too much and she began to feel her processes slowing as she collapsed. The last thing she saw before blacking out being a platoon of virals heading towards her as she collapsed._

AndrAIa stared at the gray walls of the holding area. Megabyte was with them now, she knew, posing as her, using her appearance to cause pain and misery for everyone she cared about and there was not a thing she could do about it.

"Oh User," she said, her voice doing nothing to mask how broken she felt, "please don't let them figure it out too late."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Morning Sparky."

AndrAIa wrapped her arms around Matrix as the still slightly groggy sprite entered the apartment's kitchen.

"Morning 'drAIa." he replied with a yawn. "You're up early."

"My sleep mode didn't go well." she said, her face losing a bit it's happy expression. "I just... after what happened yesterday I don't know what to do. Megabyte's stronger than he's ever been, he's got the Principal Office, he's got those trojan abilities... OH NO!" her eyes suddenly went wide, "What if he's one of US?!"

"Well, we saw him still in the Principal Office when we got out, right?" Matrix asked, realizing it was kind of a dumb question as he finished. "Oh right, the alias. Still, he's got the Principal Office under his control. It's something he's always wanted and I can't see him giving it up that easy leaving it in the hands of some virals and a copy. It's too important to him."

AndrAIa just looked up at him, a smile forming on her lips. "Yes, you're... I guess you're right. Sorry, I'm not trying to make you paranoid it's just that after what happened, I don't know what to expect out of that creep." she sighed, " When we were fighting, his strength was... it was unbelievable. I thought there was a real chance I would get deleted right there. I thought that I might not see you again and..."

Matrix, however, placed a hand under AndrAIa's chin lifting her face up to his. "Look AndrAIa, no matter what abilities Megabyte possesses, no matter how much he takes over, in the end he's still a virus. I've beaten him once and I can do it again. He's not gonna win."

"Yeah, I guess." AndrAIa smiled, leaning up and giving the gruff sprite a kiss. "Thanks Lover, you know just how to cheer a girl up. Still, I need to clear my head. I'm gonna go out for a walk and before you say anything, I don't care how dangerous it is out there. I just need to process everything and get my head straight."

With that she gave him another kiss and left. Matrix couldn't help but stare as she left. AndrAIa, for her part, turned a bit to catch him and decided to lighten the mood by giving him a little show, swaying her hips a little more as she left. As the door closed behind her, she grinned maliciously. "That fool." she laughed, "He doesn't suspect a thing. This is going to be so much easier than I had ever anticipated."

"Mornin' sugah. What brings you out here?"

Mega-AndrAIa jumped a bit at that. What was she doing out here? Had she heard what he had just said? His entire plan might've just been compromised. Still, it was best to play things cool, he figured, so as to not arouse suspicion.

"Oh, uh, hi Mouse." he replied, "I just needed to get out for a bit. You know, try and get things straight after what happened."

"I hear ya." the hacker replied, "I was just gonna go for a walk myself. You wanna come with?"

"No thanks." Mega-AndrAIa replied, shaking his head, "I'd just rather be by myself for a little bit."

"Well whatever suits ya, honey."

Megabyte watched her leave and as he did, an idea sparked in his head. Once she was out of sight, he concentrated, his form changing until Mouse now stood in his place.

"Sugah," Mega-Mouse stated with an evil grin, "you're gonna prove real useful."

***********

"Ms. Mouse, what a pleasure to see you!" Hack stated happily.

"Yes, how have you been?" asked Slash.

"Fine, fine." Mega-Mouse stated, "Say, neither of you boys would know where to find Bob would ya? I need to talk to him about somethin'. Somethin' personal."

"Oh, uh, well you see, the thing is..." Hack started.

"The thing is that he's meeting with Ms. Matrix right now." Slash finished.

"And you two aren't with her?" Mega-Mouse asked.

"No." Hack said, giving about as close to a sad face as he could muster. "She said that she needed to be with Bob alone and didn't need us distracting her."

"You mean didn't need YOU distracting her." Slash added, "We both know that you're the one who always messes things up."

"Me? I'm not the one who spilled an energy shake on her plans!"

"Oh yeah? Well I'M not the one who brought her Paints that he had done instead of the papers she asked for in the first place!"

"Well I'm not the one who--"

"Boys, boys please." Mega-Mouse said, "I get the point. So you guys are out here by yourselves right?"

"That is indeed correct." Slash stated.

"Well look, come with me, alright?" Mega-Mouse asked, "I've been thinkin' that maybe I could tinker away at you guys. Give y'all an upgrade in firepower so you boys will be even more ready to take on Megabyte when the time comes. Whaddaya say?"

"Should we take it, Slash?" Hack asked.

"It IS a verrrrry tempting offer." replied Slash.

"Let's do it!" they both exclaimed in unison.

"Excellent." Mega-Mouse said with a smile, "When I'm done, you boys will feel like completely new bots."

***********

AndrAIa was surprised when she was woken up in her cell by none other than Megabyte himself. No, not Megabyte she reminded herself; this was just an alias. The real Megabyte was doing User knows what right now. The copy stood outside her cell, mocking her simply by not being confined like she was. The contempt she felt was at it's boiling point and she couldn't hold it in.

"What do YOU want?" she practically spat the words.

"My dear game sprite, I came to see you." Megabyte replied trying to lay on the false charm, "I trust my men haven't been too harsh with you?"

"Can the act, virus." that last word was absolutely dripping with venom, "What have you done to my friends?"

"Nothing yet." he answered, "I am going to savor this after all. Worming my way into their lives, slowly destroying their confidence... these are tasks which shall play out over a period of time. Seconds, Minutes... it matters not."

"I already told you, you won't succeed." AndrAIa stated, "They'll figure you out and your plans will crash."

"And did I not tell you how flawless my impersonations are?" Megabyte grinned, adding "Your boyfriend, by the way, is a fantastic kisser."

AndrAIa's eyes widened at this, her anger absolutely exploding. "You monster!" she exclaimed. "You're an absolute monster!"

"It's one of my better qualities, I find." Megabyte replied smugly.

"I swear to the User," AndrAIa said, her tone low, her face grimly serious, "when I get out of here, I'm going to come for you. I'm going to hunt you down. And I'm going to delete you. You're going to pay for everything."

Megabyte, for his part, just laughed. "Magnificent. I do like your fighting spirit. And should you desire a repeat of last time, game sprite, then when the time comes I welcome it."

Megabyte left, laughing all the way, leaving AndrAIa frustrated. She had to think of a way out, she had to stop Megabyte and save her friends. Whether it was logical or not, she thought, it was all up to her. Megabyte had captured her. He was using her appearance to further his own goals. She placed the burden directly on her own shoulders. Megabyte was now her responsibility and should she get out, nobody, not Bob not even Matrix, would be able to do anything to change her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"There ya go! Ya boys should be good as new."

Mega-Mouse had just finished his "upgrades" on Hack and Slash. He smiled to himself; Mouse's form had given him the technical knowledge to make certain... enhancements to the two blundering bots. For all their dimwittedness, he mused, they did have their uses. They were loyal, almost to a fault, and when the time presented itself he would make great use of that; their loyalty would be almost unquestionable.

"HURRAY! The upgrades are done!" Slash exclaimed.

"Uh, but y'know Slash..." Hack said a bit unsure, "I'm not sure what the upgrades were. I don't feel any different."

"Yeah, you're right." Slash replied. He then turned and glared at the hacker. "So what gives, Mouse? What kinda new weapons do we have?"

"Ooh, ooh please tell me it's a rocket launcher!" Hack added.

"Boys, it ain't your guns that got upgraded." Mega-Mouse smirked, the words coming out in an uncharacteristically conniving manner that was lost on the two as he came up with the perfect lie, "It was your processors. I figured out a way to boost them without sacrificin' combat capability." When the words were meant with various lacks of understanding, he just sighed. "It means y'all are smarter. Ya don't got the combined I.Q. of a null anymore."

"Ooooooh! Now I get it!" Hack exclaimed, his expression brightening. "Y'know, now that I think about it, I do feel smarter! Quick, Slash, ask me a question!"

"Da, uh, OOH! What is, uh, three times three."

"Uh, hmm." Hack's expression became determined, "Is it... nine?"

"I dunno, boys." Mega-Mouse smirked, "You tell me."

"It IS nine!" Slash proclaimed. "Wow, we really ARE smarter. Thanks Mouse!"

Mega-Mouse, for his part, was already out the door. "Oh don't thank me, it was my pleasure. Anything I can do to help." as the door closed behind him, he added in is real voice, "You bumbling fools." Looking around, Megabyte managed to find secluded spot and opened up a vidwindow. "Herr Doktor, how are things going back at the Principal Office?"

The distinctly German binome, a bit surprised to hear from Megabyte, could only stutter out a response. "Ach! Mein Fuhrer! Things are proceeding smoothly, ja? Phong and the Matrix boy have been placed in the holding cells until we can figure out some use for them, much like the game sprite."

"Excellent, Herr Doktor." Megabyte smiled, "I want you break down any resistance they may have. Any hope they have of escaping, I want it crushed. For now, you shall serve as my propaganda director towards those I have made my prisoners, is that clear?"

"Ja, crystal."

As the vidwindow closed, the trojan virus was surprised by the sound of a voice calling out to him. A voice he was all too familiar with and a voice he hoped to eventually never have to hear again.

"Mouse, hey, there you are!" It was Bob, Guardian of Mainframe and the one sprite that Megabyte hated above all others. The sprite who had, time and again, thwarted his attempts at conquest. "I ran into Hack and Slash. They told me you were looking for me so I just... followed the voice I heard and here you are. You alright?"

Megabyte coughed a little and switched back to Mouse's voice. "Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah I'm alright." Mega-Mouse stated, pointing to his throat, "Just a bit of a sore throat, that's all."

"Good to know." Bob stated, "Hack and Slash said you gave them some upgrades as well. Made them smarter or something."

"Uh huh," Mega-Mouse nodded, "Figured out how to increase their processing functions without havin' to give up on the firepower. It's a real basic technique though so the effect probably won't be too noticeable." he explained, "With some steady workin' and updatin', I should eventually find a way to make it so it IS more noticeable though."

"Glad to hear it." Bob stated, "Although I doubt you were looking to talk about their upgrades so what do you really want?"

"Oh, well sugah, I had just gotten to thinkin', ya know?" he started, looking a bit wistful, "We've been through so much together, you and I, that I was growin' a bit... fond of you, you might say."

"Fond?" Bob started, "Uh, I don't know what you're talking abo--" he tried feigning ignorance but was cut off by "Mouse" laying a kiss right on him. With a bit of effort, he was finally able to push the hacker away. "Gah! M-Mouse, look, I know that sometimes people who fight together develop close bonds but, I mean... what about Ray?"

"What about him?" Mega-Mouse asked flippantly, "That old boy's never around. I can't have my man runnin' off to 'surf the Web' or whatever malarkey all the time. A girl wants companionship and right now, this girl's definitely wantin' your's." he stated, taking a step towards the Guardian.

Bob, for his part, just took a step back. "Alright, I... I see your point Mouse. But I'M not wanting YOUR companionship. Uh, at least not like that. I've, got Dot, and..."

"Dot's a bright girl but she's a bit too brainy for her own good, don't you think?" Mega-Mouse asked, an underlying hint of treachery to the words, "She's always absorbin' herself into her work and doesn't always have time for you, does she? And she can't offer you the excitement that I can, can she?"

"Look, I don't know what your game is, Mouse, but I'm not playing it." Bob said defiantly, "I'm with Dot--I LOVE Dot--and that's that."

Mega-Mouse, without warning, wrapped his arms around Bob and, once more, began to kiss him this time it only being broken when Mega-Mouse stopped it. "Ya say that now, Guardian, but deep down I know what you really want. You're a man of action and you're lookin' for a sprite that can fit in with your world." The imposter pulled away and gave a smile, "Any time you want, I'm here for ya."

When Mega-Mouse was out of Bob's sight, he laughed changing back into AndrAIa. "Oh this is too easy." Mega-AndrAIa declared, "These fools aren't even trying to make it challenging. No matter, I suppose I should pay a visit to that oaf before he starts wondering where his precious girlfriend is."

With that, "AndrAIa" let out a very uncharacteristic laugh as "she" headed in the direction of Matrix's apartment.


End file.
